Governor gives State of the State address

AUGUSTA, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- From education to energy to taxes, Gov. LePage outlined his top priorities in his State of The State Address Tuesday night.

LePage told lawmakers and a statewide TV and radio audience that all of his proposals are part of what it takes to make Maine more prosperous.

He pleaded with legislators not to roll back his tax cuts, and to continue to pay Maine's hospitals the hundreds of millions of dollars owed by the state. LePage promised a renewed focus on alternative, inexpensive forms of energy such as natural gas. And he repeated his call for more choices for students, such as charter schools.

"The public schools, no matter what we say, are not getting the job done," LePage said. "Not only do we need to give our children more options, we need to improve the outcomes in our schools."

LePage also talked about domestic violence, an issue he always speaks passionately about. He is creating a new task force to find ways to have abusers surrender their firearms.